Jill was on the before-dawn watch. It was the second least liked watch after the midnight one, as it was at that happy hour where bed and dreams are the best. That new lad, Saul was on too. He had been a ship's boy with his father's trading company and the girl was his cousin from the city that had, as far as the boy's vague allusions to falling out of trees and getting lost could be told by, had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mind you, he did have a very quick and strategic mind, and in the month or so he had been with them had collected many life-debts. The girl... She was useful, but was spoilt, and it was only that that stopped her from being allowed the run of the ship. Jay had said himself that a lass like that could cause problems, and she was inclined to agree.
The Necklace was still elusive. They followed all the leads they could find, and still nothing.
Suzi watched the sea. She would go and see Ida after her watch at what passed for breakfast. More recently Ida had been surprisingly passive, and Suzi could almost taste what she was thinking. But she wasn't going to have any of that. She would have to warn her. She hadn't been told much about what the ship was doing so far away from it's regular hunting ground, but she was pretty sure that an unruly captive would be dealt with quickly & firmly. She moved to where Jill stood.
Ida lay in her cell, an empty plate beside her. The dawn slanted through the cracks in the wood. She smiled in her sleep. She was dreaming of her hone, where her maid lay on a pallet at the foot of her bed, in case she wanted a glass of water in the night. The silk was so comfortable under her. She rolled over as her maid called her.
'Oi, oi! Wake up!'
She sat up
'Is that anyway to speak...' She tailed off when she saw who it was. The savage woman and Suzi. Suzi looked drained.
'Here,' Jill leered at her before tossing a hunk of bread some dried meat and a small water bottle. Then she left Suzi and Ida.
'Well?' Ida demanded.
'Last night a man was caught trying to take another man's water. We were all made to watch the man flogged, made to drink bilge water and throw it up. Then he was killed. They dumped his body over the side,'
This was untrue of course. The man had tried to take another man's water bottle, and it had been sorted quite fairly with a fight. Then it had been left at the thief being deprived of grog, and only to have water for three days. Not really that terrible. Ida believed it though.
'That's terrible,'
'Yes. And the worst was they laughed and made bets. I tell you, they are ruthless and harsh. Surviving a day is an achievement. So, please, don't try anything,'
She left Ida dropping any plans of escape.
They came into sight of an island about midday and a few natives rowed out to trade. Ida was guarded by two pirates. One was referred to as Ginger, and the other was Suzi.
'Werl, the Cap'n's after this treasure aint 'e?'
'What treasure?' asked Suzi
'Werl, it's a necklace wi' magic powers innit? Makes the wearer rich as Midas,'
'Who's Midas?' asked Suzi.
'Dunno. Some Greek bloke oo was dead rich.'
'Ah right,' Suzi replied and pulled out a pack of cards. 'Youse feelin' lucky?'
About an hour later the ship moved off loaded with supplies and a new parrot, that sat on the mast and looked unnerved by Cotton's parrot's friendly opening of 'A nip of grog for the cold?' Jill climbed past as she took her watch. They had offered a monkey, but Jay had politely declined. Jill sighed as she made herself comfy and scratched under her eyepatch.
When Suzi came with Ida's night rations, she asked why they had taken them hostage,
'Yer more useful to 'em alive,' she was told cryptically.
'Please tell me Suzi. I want to know.' Ida pleaded.
'Look I can't tell you because I don't rightly know meself. All I know is Cap'n Jack's after something big. A magic necklace apparently.'
'What does it do?'
'Rumour has it as anything from eternal life to great riches. That's all I know I swear on me honour,'
'But-'
'G'night miss,'
Days passed as they have a habit of doing and the crew was getting bored. There was the occasional fight and mutters were going round that the cap'n had finally lost the plot and was fishing for the moon's reflection. The rumours were quenched quickly and cleanly by Jill, who calmly asked any man with a problem to come to her and she would deal with it. After the first man no one seemed to have any doubts of Jack's sanity. Anamaria was becoming bigger though, and slowly the fourth wound on Jill's arm was closing up.
It was a balmy night when Ida was let out to walk round the deck on her own. She had been allowed on deck with a companion before but had more recently been given a run of the ship, on the condition she didn't try any funny business and stayed out the way. She wandered about, past the men on watch and playing cards. She was up near the flat end of the ship near a cabin when she saw the door. She looked through the tiny windows. The moon streamed though but apart from that it was dark. Something compelled her and she turned the handle.
The door came open easily and she slipped inside. She could see a table and a desk and a few chairs. Then there was another door. She crept across noting with distaste the empty bottles and crumpled bits of paper that had obviously been thrown by whoever the desk belonged to. She opened the door silently. The captain was there asleep with that pregnant mulatto woman. He murmured as the moonlight fell on his face and Ida shut the door. She went back to the desk and leafed through the papers. Maybe she would be able to find a reason for her capture, or at least something to read in the day. She turfed up a leather-bound book with a bit of paper sticking out. It was marked at a place where the sprawling handwriting was highlighted in pencil. The piece of paper had a picture on it. She held it up in the light to get a better look. She-
'Move and you're dead.'
'I wasn't thieving!' She dropped the piece of paper. The cold metal of a knife touched her throat
'Funny, it don't look like that to me,'
She was rotated slowly on the spot. Sparrow was an inch from her and she smiled guiltily.
'Why the hell are you in here for?' the pirate let her go.
'I-I-I-' Ida really didn't know what to say. She looked down on the desk and picked up the piece of paper. There was a rough sketch of a necklace.
'What's this?'
'It's what we're after. Tell me wench, are you superstitious?'
As he seemed slightly less concerned with why she was here, she relaxed and decided to humour him.
'A bit, why?'
The pirate picked up a bottle from the floor, peered into it and drank. If Ida had been watching, she would have seen him watching her carefully over the neck of the bottle.
'It's going to lift a curse.'
Oh my. He really is mad.
Ida gulped.
'Why do you ask?'
'N-nothing. I thought I'd seen it before.'
'Have you?' the pirate dropped the bottle and Ida flinched backwards. 'Where? Tell me now!' Suddenly Ida remembered Suzi's words.
They are ruthless and harsh.
She wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt
'I-I saw it.' she finished lamely.
'Where?' the captain leant forward, covering the inch that stopped her from looking him in the eye. He had the knife in his hand. She swallowed and shut her eyes
'I-I-I' she stuttered.
'Spit it out girl!' Ida had had a governess that had said that to her. So she did.
A/N: You see, the thing with this was, I wanted to get the plot moving, and this was what I thought might be the best way. So, yeah, review review and tell me what you think. Go on, all it'll take is hitting that button down there. Do it.
